Kpop Travel Playlist! (with MVs)

There are a lot of things I could talk about, but travel plans always take up most of my time. I decided to share my Kpop travel playlist and see what everyone thought. If you have a Kpop travel playlist, then feel free to share. I promise longer and more thought-provoking posts in the future. This playlist will be my top ten because I have many full length albums in my phone. It’s Kpop songs for traveling time! ^_^

The picture speaks for itself. \^u^/

1) 2NE1-Crush (Korean/Japanese)

2NE1’s ‘Crush’ acts like a rallying song for Blackjacks to me. It’s mostly the “Nolja/Nolza” chant at the end, but the entire song radiates the fierceness that drew me to 2NE1. It’s a fantastic song for any Blackjack or appreciator of fierce ladies. I enjoy both the Korean and Japanese version, so it’s a win-win for me. ^^

2) Kahi-It’s Me

I was new to Kahi when ‘It’s Me” came out because I had never really listened to After School before, which would have alerted me to Kahi’s existence. My love for fierce ladies is not hidden, so ‘It’s Me’ is the perfect song for me to listen to when I am traveling. Something about fierce music makes me suddenly walk with more confidence and feel empowered. The power of music is great and so are Kahi’s abs. I need to work out more. ><

3) Ailee-Singing Got Better

Ailee has been through a lot from moving from her home in the U.S. to Korea and that unfortunate scandal not long ago, but she is tough. The song ‘Singing Got Better’ comes soon after that scandal and showed her amazing ability to stay strong and bounce back from tough situations. The title gives way to plenty of puns, but the vocals are fantastic and I don’t believe anyone telling the truth can deny that. The MV has an interesting plot, which can be linked back to a certain event I just thought of now. Anyway, the song is powerful and a wonderful display of Ailee’s vocals.

4) G.NA-G.NA’s Secret

I have a soft spot for G.NA because she is fun and has a bubbly personality, despite some people feeling she should act more mature for a woman her age. I don’t understand that at all because she is only 26 and being young at heart doesn’t hurt anyone. I like ‘G.NA’s Secret’ because she is showing her cute charm instead of her sexy charm, which she has shown before. It’s sweet and shows a side of a girl in love that actually does exist, which means G.NA could act the same way under the right circumstances. 

5) Jun Hyoseong (Hyoseong)-Goodnight Kiss

We go from using cute charm to flat-out seduction and at a wedding no less. The MV shows Hyoseong’s sexy charm in her dance segments and through the plot, which seems to be in the imagination of the groom. If I had to summurize it, then I would say Hyoseong’s seductive charms have the groom imagining himself with her and eventually trying to kiss her. Naturally this has the “It’s a dream” theme going for it, so it all falls apart at the end. In other words, he “wakes up” and she just walks away with a smirk. He doesn’t cheat physically, but I guess he did mentally. Does that count? Does it matter? Why am I asking these questions? I just find the “Boom boom” and “Zoom zoom” parts funny. It’s definitely catchy, so that helps when there is time to spare on my travels.

6) SoyouXJunggigo-Some

This song is very sweet and has the same catchy appeal that ‘Goodnight Kiss’ had. It balances the vocals of Soyou and Junggigo (what a name) well and the MV is quite sweet. Sure the actors are not Soyou and Junggigo, but it still works. The song has an innocent romance theme going and it’s very catchy when you let the song sink in. ~^^~

7) Gain-Truth or Dare

It’s Gain, so you better be ready for something sexy. This does not mean the song has not meaning. Actually, most of Gain’s songs seem to have a deep meaning to them. “Bloom” was about sexual awakening, “FxxK You” was apparently about date rape or something like that and “Truth or Dare” is about misunderstandings. That last one might be only about Gain or girls who act like she does on stage because there is a version with a mock interview, which shows false beliefs of Gain. The lyrics in the song talk about misunderstandings and how rumors might not be so bad. The brass sounds really make me love this song. 🙂

8) AOA-Miniskirt

I didn’t really listen to ‘Miniskirt’ when it came out, but I did give it a try for a post a while back about girl groups and the sudden surge of sexy concepts. Very few people will deny that AOA is filled with beautiful girls. Miniskirt eventually gets to be fun to listen to and the MV definitely hits the “sexy nail” on the head. You might feel funny with the amount of eye contact they make with the camera in the MV, but you will get over it eventually (if you are that kind of person). There is a dance practice version called “Eye Contact” version, which I call “Make Eye-Love with the Camera” version. Try it out and see how you like that. ><

9) AKMU-200%

It’s Akdong Musician (AKMU), so you know the song will be sweet. It’s the “National Siblings” who I believe are also the winners of “Kpop Star 2”. ‘200%’ is a sweet song about unrequited love and perhaps unexpressed love and it’s for a good reason. The guy in question has a girlfriend already, so our female lead (Lee Soo-hyun) must watch him from a far. Close enough to see him, but far away enough not to be seen catching glances by his girlfriend. She is around them so often, so I don’t know how the couple didn’t figure it out already. Soo-hyun pretends to be in the situations that the male lead is with his girlfriend, such as eating ice cream or dancing.The latter part of the MV unfolds the screen to show the girlfriend is actually doing those things with the boyfriend and the power of perspective was fooling us the entire time. What I get from this is a cute girl can “observe” her crush from afar, but a guy would probably get a restraining order. Oh well. It’s the world of Kpop MVs, so let’s ignore that and enjoy the sweet tune of unrequited love. ><;;;

10) 2NE1-Happy

The point of this song is pretty obvious from the title itself. ‘Happy’ is a great “pick-me-up” song and it never fails to make me happy. The MV is somewhat bubbly and carries the message of 2NE1 wishing everyone happiness, even if they are not happy themselves. That is certainly a powerful message when you think about it. Happiness of the fans being important even when the artist might not be happy at the time is an issue that is argued about in the Kpop fan community. This songs shows that some artists really do value the happiness of their fans more than themselves at least sometimes. If you just want to enjoy the message of being happy, then that is good too. That’s why I picked this song and that rounds up my top ten.

If you have your own top ten, then share away and I’ll return after my trip. I’ll post a pre-travel picture before I go and I’ll see you Kpoppers later. ^_^

2NE1 Crushes The Competition!

Yeah. That was an obvious pun, but I had to make it. It’s not surprise that I’m a Blackjack, so this news is amazing to me. 2NE1 has finally come back with their 2nd Full Album in four years. This is a big day and there was a lot of expectations on 2NE1. The news that they would be coming back at the same time as SNSD started that old rivalry between S0NES and Blackjacks, but nothing bad has happened yet. Some fan support gets over-enthusiastic to the point of insulting the other group, but it’s nothing big enough to get an article or anything like that. Just a random Facebook comment here or there. Anyway, there was a tremendous amount of expectation for both groups and 2NE1 completely surpassed all expectations.

2NE1’s latest album “Crush” is a mix of the typical mass appeal style they have and some experimental tracks. Some of these songs are new to the “2NE1 style” and even to Kpop altogether. 

[Photo Credit: YGUnited.com] Link: http://tinyurl.com/k8v4ay2

2NE1 is one of the biggest girl groups in Kpop and that means people expect a lot from them. Blackjacks expect a lot more and the girls have never disappointed their fans, which is a testament to their talent and YG’s desire to reach the closest level to perfection as possible. Blackjacks will say 2NE1 is perfect and I am one of them, but that is fan being a fan. There are such fans in every group, so there is no need to go on about it and be “smart”. “Crush” has two title tracks and these tracks are filled with the uniqueness that 2NE1 prides themselves on maintain in all their musical ventures.  Those tracks are “Come Back Home” (which is seen as the true main title track) and “Gotta Be You”. Leader and Rapper CL had a lot of control over this album and she was involved in almost every track. “Come Back Home” is a song with a mix of Hip-Hop and Reggae, which is clear if you listen to the beat. The song has an addictive “drop” where you hear the members say “Come baby baby/ Come come baby/ Come come baby/ Come come”, which is done with a special technique to make it sound even more hypnotic.  “Gotta Be You” uses a synthesizer to create a unique sound to go with CL’s classic rapping. Both songs have a fair split between each member, which allows people to discern which member is singing at any given time. It’s not easy to find a balance between members of a group and an uneven split can occur based on the type of song the groups is singing, but “Crush” has shown it is definitely possible to achieve that balance.

2NE1 is not a group that is involved with variety shows or other media as much as some other groups, so Blackjacks are often left waiting for the group to release a new album, single or watch old 2NE1 TV episodes to bide time. This puts even more pressure on 2NE1 to make their comebacks “knock-outs”.

[Photo Credit: YGUnited.com] Link: http://tinyurl.com/mf8vsnd

Some people might be surprised to find out CL had another solo so soon, but it is a solo track on the album for the group. I believe this makes it different from “Baddest Female” because that song was a solo debut and “Mental Breakdown” (MTBD) is a solo track on the group’s album. This means the odds of CL promoting MTBD apart from 2NE1’s promotions are very slim, if they exist at all. MTBD is fantastic track and it might remind CLovers and Blackjacks overall of “Baddest Female” because of CL’s vocals being the main force behind the song. The rapping is solid and the bass is amazing, which makes the listener feel like a “Gizbe”. This is just another way it is similar to “Baddest Female”, which made the listener feel a type of empowerment. MTBD is not so similar that it sounds boringly similar to “Baddest Female”, but it shows CL’s classic style is still running strong. The song itself has a mix of English and Korean, which is no surprise to any fan of CL or 2NE1. The lyrics of “Karma karma karma is looking for you/ What u gonna do when they come for you/ Karma karma karma is gonna find you/ What u gonna do” reveals there is a deeper meaning to the song that might not be apparent at first. This is probably more true for any fan who doesn’t understand any Korean and knowing “Aigoo” doesn’t count.  2NE1’s new album “Crush” has been receiving international recognition and broken into the top ranks of charts all over the world. The most amazing part of that news is that CL’s solo track has managed to gain recognition apart from the track as a whole. YGUnited.com has a quote from a famous U.S. music critic called Jacques Peterson. Peterson is quoted saying “I am addicted to CL’s self-composed song, ‘Mental Breakdown’. She showcased ‘swag’ through her rap skills and is filled with energy.” This news is proof that 2NE1 has definitely created a storm of attention for themselves with their comeback, which is definitely good for them and all Blackjacks.

CL has been praised for her musical ability before, but this album made full use of her talents. Three songs were composed by her and the album as a whole has traces of her influence. 

[Photo Credit: YGUnited.com] Link: http://tinyurl.com/mn7f4kh

Multiple real time charts have 2NE1 on top or in the top ranks of their charts and the group has reached the top of seven iTunes charts, which acts as a testament to their fan strength. 2NE1’s All Or Nothing (AON) Tour begins today (KST) with their entire album being introduced and it will continue from there. I hope all Blackjacks and YG-Stans show great support to 2NE1 and help them win many competitions. This will be an interesting time to watch music shows and see how well 2NE1 competes for the crown. Keep watching everyone and welcome back 2NE1! Nolza! ^_^

*Don’t forget to vote via SNS Slide, trending on social media, MV viewing and buying the albums to support 2NE1*

Here is a Fuse TV list of why you should love “Crush”, if this entry is not enough. ^^

http://www.fuse.tv/2014/02/2ne1-crush-album-breakdown

The MV has been delayed another day (KST), but I feel confident it is worth it. Here is the track for now. Don’t forget to view the MV when it comes out.